03 March 2015

A shiny spot on the dwarf planet Ceres

The latest images from Nasa’s Dawn spacecraft reveal a pair of bright
spots on Ceres, a 590-mile-wide dwarf planet, with the brightest of the
two reflecting at least 40% of the sunlight that falls on it.

Scientists are unsure what the bright patches are, but given that
frozen water makes up at least a quarter of the bulk of Ceres, the odds
are high that they are patches of primordial ice.

There are other possibilities though. The bright spots might be the work
of volcanic eruptions on Ceres that blast ice out from the body’s
interior. Yet another explanation could be the materials that make up
the object. Some asteroids shine brightly because of their mineral
constituents. Known as enstatite asteroids, they are rich in magnesium
silicates, which can reflect nearly half of the light they receive.

The Reddit thread discusses this phenomenon and the concept and calculation of albedo. Also interesting that a 590-mile wide planet "holds enough frozen water to fill all the lakes on Earth."

No comments:

Post a Comment

"Tai-wiki-widbee" is an eclectic mix of trivialities, ephemera, curiosities, and exotica with a smattering of current events, social commentary, science, history, English language and literature, videos, and humor. We try to be the cyberequivalent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities.

The 2008 Weblog Awards

Category: Best New Blog

Translate

Search TYWKIWDBI

About Me

I'm using an old photo of my grandfather as an avatar; he would have been amused.
Readers - especially old friends, classmates, students, former colleagues, and long-lost relatives - are welcome to email me via retag4726 (at) mypacks.net